Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Cranberry Oatmeal

When I was a little girl, my mom would make me a hot bowl of oatmeal on a cold winter morning, and tell me that it would stick to my bones and keep me warm.....she was right! Spring is right around the corner, but I still enjoy oatmeal, even when the weather starts warming up.

Oatmeal is quite easy to make.... I use regular rolled oats... not quick oats.
About a half a cup of oats in a pan with about a half a cup of water and a third of a cup of milk... you can use any kind of milk you want I use regular milk sometimes I use soymilk or almond milk.
Cook the oats for about 5 minutes or read the directions on the package of your oats... add cinnamon if you'd like and some sugar or maple syrup for some sweetness.
At the end I add whatever else I want like cranberries, blueberries, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and shredded coconut.
It's up to you as to what you want to add... everybody like something different.
I usually put a little extra milk in it before I start to eat my oatmeal.

Really, I don't think you can go wrong with oatmeal, add some dried fruit, seeds, coconut, nuts and fresh fruit and you will have a hearty meal.

Enjoy!

"I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking it out."— Oscar Wilde

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Cheddar Chive Bisquits ~ Recipe Wednesday

I am back...took a week off my blog because I have some new projects that I am working on at the moment. More to come on the launch dates soon!
Today, I offer you some delicious bisquits. Perfect with my soup recipe posts.

Cheddar Chive Bisquits
Ingredients :

2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup of cold unsalted butter
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (I like a sharp white cheddar)
1/4 chopped chives
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons of melted butter

Oven 230C (450F)

In a large bowl mix
Flour, baking powder and salt with a fork.

Slice cold butter and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. (I used my food processor and pulsed it and returned it to the bowl)

Stir in grated cheese and chives.

Add milk and stir till dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface...knead quickly to mix thoroughly. Roll the dough out until 1/2 inch thick. Cut out bisquits with a floured bisquit cutter ( I just used a cookie cutter) and put on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush the tops with the melted butter and bake till golden brown...about 12-15 minutes!

Yummers! Enjoy! Happy Wednesday!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Hummus Delight ~ Recipe Wednesday

Ok...so forgive me with the cheesy name for this weeks recipe...
With a 2 month old baby boy and a 6 year girl I am lucky to get anything posted during the week! But I LOVE to cook and share and when you are a mom I truly believe that you have to step back...breathe and find time to do what you love.....as long as the household is sorted! So here we go...Hummus is pretty much a staple in our home. It is fast and easy to make and a great snack on some bread...crackers or you can dip some veggies in it. It is healthy too! What more could you ask for?

In a food processor or a blender...food processor is easier...mix the following

1 box, can or cup of garbanzo beans...depending on if you pressure cook your own beans or buy your beans
6 sundried tomatoes....I use ones that are in a jar of olive oil...they are soft and easy to mix up
6-8 pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons of plain greek yogurt
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Splash of water
And as much feta cheese as you like....I like lots!

Mix this all in your food processor till it becomes smooth...adding bits of water as you go to smooth it all out.

Serve at parties or grab at anytime of the day for a quick snack.

Enjoy!

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Coconut Brownies ~ Holiday Bonus Recipe

A bonus recipe this week for Valentine's Day! This is a recipe from the back of the coconut flour bag, so it is not my recipe, but I wanted to share.
These are gluten free because I used coconut flour...don't let "gluten free" scare you away....these are very yummy brownies.

Ingredients & Directions

Peheat oven at 350F (180C)

1/3 cup of butter
1/2 cup of cocoa powder

Put butter and cocoa powder in a pan and blend over low heat. Remove from heat and let it cool.

In a bowl.... mix
1cup of sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 eggs

When butter/cocoa mixture is cool put the sugar mixture into the pot and mix. (Do not turn stove on....it is just easier to mix everything in the pot)

Add 1/2 cup of sifted coconut flour ...to the mixture and mix well... till there are no lumps. I used my hand mixer. I added chocolate chips and mixed them in with a spoon.

Use an oiled baking pan ( I used coconut butter to oil mine)
Put the brownie mixture into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. I covered mine with foil halfway through so the top would not burn.
You can check the brownies with a toothpick to see if they are done.

Enjoy! Happy Valentine's Day!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Potato Cheese Soup ~ Recipe Wednesday

This week we are having potato cheese soup! It is my daughter's favorite winter meal.

Ingredients:

5-6 medium sized peeled potatoes

1 chopped stalk of celery

1 chopped small onion

1 cube of chicken stock or a cup of homemade chicken stock ( vegetable stock can be used also)

1 cup of water ( if using homemade stock or a liquid stock from a can/carton, do not use this extra cup of water)

1/2 tsp salt

ground pepper to taste

2 tsp flour

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese ( I used a white cheddar that I shredded)

About 2 tbsp of chopped chives...add more if you want


In a large pot add potatoes, onion, celery, boullion and water. Season with salt and pepper and simmer till everything is soft.

In a bowl mix the flour and milk. When pot of vegetables are soft add the milk mixture and cook till soup becomes thick...stir so it does not burn.

After soup has thickened add the cheese and chives, stir till cheese has melted. I mashed some of the potatoes a bit with a potato masher, to make the soup a bit more creamy, but if you like a chunky soup, no need to mash.

Enjoy this weeks soup! Hope you and your kids ( if you have kids) like it!



Monday, February 10, 2014

Be Bold ~ Monday's Mantra

This morning a good friend reminded me to be bold about something I mentioned in an email. This advice stuck with me all day...therefore I decided it was the perfect mantra for the week.  So as you walk through your week walk with confidence...be fearless ...go out into the world and get what you want. Have a wonderful week!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Simple Herb Soup ~ Recipe Wednesday

So recently I discovered a show about a woman from England that has been living in Japan for 30 years! It's called Venetia's Diary. It is on NHK channel 2 on Sunday's at 6pm and it repeats on Tuesday's at 10:30am...if you do not live in Japan I believe there is way to watch the show online, just google Venetia's Diary.  She lives in a 100 year old farmhouse in Kyoto and shares her herbal knowledge and travels around Japan visiting artists. I LOVE THIS SHOW....even though 90% of this 30 minute show is in Japanese I love it! Venetia is a simple woman and she inspires me....living in Japan has not been the easiest transition for me over the last (almost) 7 years. I have fallen into depression, bitterness, negativity...basically everything I do not want to be. But...the last year of my life has brought great changes...I got pregnant, stopped teaching english, started meditating everyday, creating mandalas more, loving my time with my 6 year old daughter, learning more and more about compromise in marriage (probably the most challenging lesson) and I had a baby boy that I simply adore! BIG changes and change is not always easy...especially for me and my Capricorn ways. My point....this tv program has given me more hope and inspires me to want to stay in Japan...Venetia speaks simple Japanese that I understand and it is helping me learn this difficult language. What I love most is when she cooks....and this week she made a simple vegetable soup. I am going to share it with you...I have made a few changes since I did not have all the same herbs as Venetia, but my soup came out tasting delicious.

Ingredients

Diakon radish
Carrot
Chives ( I used にら a chinese chive)
1 celery stalk
A can of white beans ( or you can soak and cook your own)
Green beans
Thick bacon ( optional....I used it for flavoring)

Herbs: I bundled in cheesecloth a slice of lemon, some fresh thyme and some fresh lemon grass.

Fill a pot with water... put cut up carrots, diakon and celery in the pot with the bundled up herbs and simmer for 45 minutes.
I cooked my bacon up and put it in the simmering pot after the veggies simmered for about 30 minutes....the last 5 minutes I threw in the green beans and white beans. They both do not need to cook for long. Having a little crunch in your green bean is good....

At the end of cooking I added some salt and pepper to taste...topped with chives and took out the bundle of herbs.

It ended up snowing in our city ( happens once or twice in winter) so this soup was perfect for a snowy day. I also made some cheddar and chive biscuits that were a perfect match!

I hope you like this soup. Enjoy!

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Drown Out The Noise And Trust Your Instincts ~ Monday's Mantra

There is not much to say about this weeks mantra. Let us all quiet our minds and listen to our truth....shall we? I know I need to practice this much more to ground myself during the short but oh so long month of February.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Dal~icious ~Recipe Wednesday

1 cup of Chana Dal *soak in water the night before cooking*

1 yellow onion
1 tbsp chopped ginger
3 cloves of garlic
4 small little green hot peppers I got from a thai store, please use any hot peppers you want and a splash of olive oil
6 cups of water
1 tsp salt *you can always add more if you like*
1/4tsp tumeric
1/4tsp cumin
1/4tsp corriander
1/4tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 handfuls of chopped spinach *goes in last*

*First soak your Chana Dal overnight*

NEXT DAY

*Onion, ginger, garlic and hot peppers a splash of oil in a pan and brown..not too brown just lightly and until fragrant...*

*After Dal is soaked over night put it in the slow cooker with the 6 cups of water and the onion,ginger,hot peppers and garlic...add all spices and lemon juice..put the cover on the slow cooker and turn on high for the day...at night turn down to low*

*Goodmorning...put everything in a blender..be careful if the soup is really hot..you want to wait till it cools a bit before blending to avoid getting burnt and avoid having Dal on your ceiling or better yet, use a hand blender. After blended put it all back in the slow cooker with the chopped spinach..back on high for 30 minutes then to low...and its done! ready to eat!!!!

You will not be disappointed..it is delicious!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Monday's mantra ~ Sing and Dance

This week let's sing or dance or both! What ever brings happiness to your day! Yesterday I was having a tough day with our 6 week old baby...it was just a fussy day for the little guy. So I started to sing...I never sing due to thinking I have a terrible voice. But I sang and sang made up songs for my boy and it brought smiles! Therefore I had decided that singing and dancing will be my mantra this week! When things get tough or you have a frown instead of a smile..sing and dance! It is the perfect cure.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Strawberry Banana Cloud ~ Recipe Wednesday

This is a delicious trifle, the original recipe is from a Nigel Slater cooking show but he made his with canned peaches and ginger cookies. I changed it up a bit.

Ingredients

6 strawberries
1 banana
1/3 cup of coconut milk
Whip cream
Cookies of your choice.

Directions for 2 servings

First cut the banana into slices and put them in a pan with the coconut milk...bring to a boil....turn off the heat and cover for 10-15 minutes.

Make your whip cream...I added cinnamon to mine.

Slice your strawberries.

Crush about 3-4 cookies of your choice.

Now it's time to layer everything. I did it in wine glasses...
First put a small spoonful of crushed cookies on the bottom...next...
add the bananas and coconut milk evenly into your glasses ...next
add your strawberries and top with whipped cream and crushed cookies.

It was the perfect afternoon snack.

Enjoy!

Monday, January 20, 2014

Be Free ~ Monday's mantra

Release your worries. Worrying is not only a waste of time it is has no nourishment what so ever. It does nothing positive for you or anybody around you. Others will feel a negative energy from you when you worry and it will deplete you of energy leaving you to feel exhausted. When we release our worrying and just flow with life like a river we are free. So this week I am walking with the mantra ~ Be Free....please join me.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Granola Bliss ~ Wednesday's Recipe

4 cups of Organic Oats
1/2 cup of wheat germ
1/4 cup of brown sugar
dash of salt
2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 cup of shredded coconut
1/2 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
1/3 cup of honey
1/3 cup of coconut oil or olive oil ( I like coconut)
1/2 cup of water

In a large mixing bowl mix all dry ingredients together. Oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, cinnamon, coconut, salt and walnuts. *Do Not add raisins and cranberries*

Make a well in the center of the mixed dry ingredients pour all liquid ingredients (water, oil, honey) and mix all ingredients together well. Spread granola on a cookie sheet or flat pan, put into preheated oven (175 C or 325 F) bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Be sure to watch and stir every 10 minutes the granola can burn easily. When lightly browned take out of oven put into a bowl and mix in the raisins and cranberries and cool. After granola is cooled it should be crispy if not you may want to bake a bit longer.

To store put into a jar with a tight lid. You can enjoy as a snack at anytime of the day. It is very delicious in milk or soy milk or mixed in yogurt.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Love Is The Message ~ Monday's mantra

Everyday we get up and do our thing...some of us rush around taking care of others. Some of us go off to our jobs...that we may or may not like. We are busy! Everyone is busy! So this weeks mantra is...Love Is The Message...a simple reminder that no matter how busy you may be...keep in mind that doing everything with LOVE is key. If we live from our hearts it's a bit easier to enjoy life everyday... no matter what comes your way.

What is a mantra? If you do not know...A mantra is usually a word or words that inspire you. A saying that if repeated or thought of during a tough moment in your day or anytime in your day...could bring things into perspective more easily. Some people use mantras during meditation to help them focus on positive thoughts. I enjoy waking on Monday morning with an inspiring mantra to get me through the week ahead.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Rainy Day Winter Salad ~ Recipe Wednesday

It is Winter in Japan so that is why I am calling this a Winter salad...but really it is for any season. The city I live in, in Japan, tends to be sunny, dry and usually in the 40's - 50'sF / 8 -12C December-Mid March, that's a big change for this born and raised Chicago girl. I actually love the snow but could do without the freezing temperatures that the midwestern states dish out in the Winter.....especially right now! If you are in the midwestern states please be safe and have some hot soup with this salad. I used some smoked salmon and a few pieces of cooked shrimp on my salad since I was in the mood for some seafood, but feel free to leave it off or add what you like.

SALAD Mixed greens Diakon radish cut into thin sticks Carrots Cucumbers Yellow tomatoes Red and yellow peppers A bit of shredded cabbage Avocado Smoked salmon A few sauteed shrimp

DRESSING Handful of fresh mint leaves About a 1/4 cup of good quality olive oil Whiz it up in a food processor....it's a refreshing and easy to make dressing.

Keep warm if you are someplace that is cold.....if you are someplace where it is Summertime, please soak up some beach time for me! Where ever you are stay hydrated! And enjoy this weeks recipe.

Xo

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Aging is a blessing ~ Monday's mantra

This week is my 41st birthday. When I turned 40 years old last year I was not totally sure how I felt about entering my 40's....As the year progressed and I did things I never imagined doing at this age....like having another baby....I am happy to say that I HAVE fully embraced this aging thing that so many seem to fear.  I know more than I did in my 20's & 30's...I am becoming a more relaxed person...as in it is getting easier to let things go and easier to love myself just the way I am now.  I feel I look pretty damn good for my age and I am excited to see what the next year has in store for my blessed life! Enjoy where you are at in life and know that you are exactly where you need to be. Love & light!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Mikan & pomegranate juice ~ Recipe Wednesday


Easy! just juice some mikans (tangerines) and half a pomegranate...nourishment for any season!